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Ockimey known for bat speed, power

The Red Sox continued their pursuit of power bats in this year's First-Year Player Draft by nabbing left-handed-hitting slugger Josh Ockimey with their fifth-round selection on Friday.

The first baseman, a senior at Ss. Neumann Goretti High School in Philadelphia, was ecstatic to learn he was taken by the Red Sox.

"Just been drafted to the Boston Red Sox!! Thank you to everyone who's helped me get here!! #REDSOXNATION," he tweeted.

Just last week, Boston's scouting staff watched intently as Ockimey lofted balls off the Green Monster with an opposite-field stroke, and then turned on pitches and rifled them over the bullpen in right-center.

"He's got a really good swing for Fenway," said Red Sox director of scouting Amiel Sawdaye. "There's no doubt there's going to be some learning curves and bumps in the road when he goes out, but really, what we said about [Michael] Chavis and [Sam] Travis, power is a commodity in this game, and to be able to go out and buy that power and be able to take a chance on a big kid like that who is a pretty good athlete, and also has good instincts for the game, that's something we were excited about in the fifth round."

Ockimey impressed Boston's brass in a pre-Draft workout at Fenway last November.

"He's a fun one," said Sawdaye. "You can kind of see, as big as he is, he still has a lot of youth to him. You truly believe that this kid, he hasn't gotten his man strength."

The Draft concludes on Saturday, with exclusive coverage of Rounds 11-40 beginning on MLB.com at 1 p.m. ET.

Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Brownie Points, and follow him on Twitter @IanMBrowne. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.